Switzerland is now purchasing Russian gold at the highest rate in over two years, according to a new Bloomberg report.
In August, the major refining hub purchased 5.7 tons of the metal, at a cost of roughly $324 million. That was the most since April of 2020, according to Bloomberg, which cited data from the Swiss Federal Customs Administration.
Records showed the bullion arriving from the UK, according to customs officials, who noted the records display the last place where the gold underwent refining, rather than the location where it had last been shipped from.
Since early August, Switzerland has been a part of an EU embargo which bans the purchase, import, or transport of gold products from Russia, as well as all related services.
However the embargo exempts any products which had been exported from Russia prior to the embargo’s implementation. Bloomberg noted that old bullion from Russia may be being remelted in Switzerland so that it will be easier to sell on the open market.
Switzerland bought 3 tons of Russian gold for $200 million in May, in what had been the first purchase since February.
According to data from the World Gold Council, Russia is the world’s second largest gold miner after China, and it is one of the top exporters of the precious metal globally.
The Daily Financial Trends
